OVERVIEW
For the past 50 years, Best Western Hotels grew steadily from a small roadside motel to a mid-priced worldwide lodging chain of over 3000 hotels primarily because they had the lowest franchise fees in lodging. And surprisingly without much brand awareness. Simply stated, Best Western was the world’s largest hotel chain but no one knew it.
That all changed in 2001 when “The World’s Largest Hotel Chain” strategy was conceived, designed and executed by Michael Diliberto.
OBJECTIVE
To raise awareness of the Best Western “world’s largest hotel chain” brand positioning.
RESULTS
Best Western International awareness grew from 5% to 21% in just three years.
In those first three years, Best Western achieved the highest sales results in the company’s history in all key areas:
• # of bookings to the central reservation system
• # of room nights sold
• Highest Average Daily Rate
• Highest net revenue in BW history
• Highest ad awareness scores in BW history
By 2003, Best Western held a huge $4.20 lead in Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR) over the competitive set and also became the #1 brand in mid-priced lodging for hotel developers.
